Lenovo to rev up smartphone and premium laptop PC sales
Computer giant posts record gains in quarter to December, and intends to step up expansion of smartphones and premium PCs segments
Lenovo, which claims to have recorded its "best quarter ever", will this year step up the international expansion of its smartphone business and sales of premium-priced laptop computers.
The technology giant yesterday reported a 34 per cent net profit increase in its fiscal third quarter ended December 31 to a record US$204.9 million, up from US$153.4 million a year earlier.
That hefty gain was attributed to a record high shipment of personal computers to 14.1 million units last quarter and strong sales of its smartphones and media tablets. It also beat the average estimate of US$178.4 million from a poll of 11 analysts by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Total fiscal third-quarter revenue for Lenovo, which operates in more than 160 countries, rose 12 per cent to a record US$9.4 billion, compared with US$8.4 billion the previous year. The mainland accounted for 43 per cent of worldwide sales.
"This was the 15th quarter in a row that the company grew faster than the [personal computer] industry," Lenovo chairman and chief executive Yang Yuanqing said. "Lenovo gained share points in every geography, every product category and in every respective customer segment."
Revenue of the firm's personal computer business advanced 7 per cent year on year to about US$7.9 billion last quarter, when its global market share reached a new high of 15.9 per cent.